The CheckerBoard

His stuff is different but his style reminds me of Maddox. He has a long way to go to actually be a Maddox but he has many of the same tools.

Agreed. It definitely wasn't their plan to begin with, because he was competing for a job in spring training. Just so happened that he got bumped up to the rotation because Delgado was struggling. Delgado can still be a good starter, just needs a little seasoning, I think. But now, they can say, "yeah this was our plan all along", and who are we to say otherwise, because right now, it's working pretty damn good. Good for Medlen, the kid just knows how to pitch.

I have heard the talking heads say it was the plan and how much smarter they were than the Nationals but I'm not sure anyone with the Braves has. I could be wrong but I think the Braves are letting said 'talking heads' carry their water for them.

Care*

Boomer and Bleedorange are right. The Braves lucked into this situation. I was screaming for Medlin to start from Day One, but Fredi was too enamored with his ability to burn innings as a middle reliever.

His record is amazing. He has 9 wins and has only been a starter for a little over a month. Tnbear talks about Maddox, but the way Medlin has pitched since he went into the rotation is as good as Mad Dog at his best. Plus, he can go 8 or 9 anytime you want him to, which wasn't always the case with Maddox.

All they need to worry about now is making sure he is the starter in the wild card game and things might just start lining up their way.

I agree he has been like Maddux and that's why I made the comparison but he needs to do it for years to be a Maddux. I have to disagree about Maddux and the number of innings he pitched. Over his 11 years with the Braves he averaged 7.65 innings per start with an average of 33 starts per year. For his entire career he averaged 34 starts per year and 6.74 innings per start and this includes the last 4 or five years when he was not what he had been. Areas where I think you can compare are mental toughness, mechanics, pitch placement, understanding how to pitch, planning and executing his game plan. I give Medlin the edge on velocity. Medlin and what he has and is accomplishing is awesome but we need to see how he does in the future.

I would start Mahlom instead of mike minor and not to knock minor but Mahlom has been dominant

Only two of Maholm's last six starts have been quality starts. He pitched well Tuesday night, but he hasn't been nearly as consistent lately as Medlen or even Minor, who has six quality starts in his last eight appearances.

Ha! I may be a Cardinals fan, but I'm also just a baseball fan in general. I enjoy discussing almost any team in the league, especially since I keep an eye on everybody for fantasy-league purposes.

No argument with me about Maddux longterm. He's my favorite pitcher of all time, so I would not be dissing him! I'm just saying that if you look at this stretch of work by Medlin, (a little over a month and a half) the numbers are as good or better as Greg in his prime:

Medlin is now 8-0 with a 0.76 ERA as a starter. That is unworldly.

What I was thinking of were during his last couple of years with the Braves, Maddux struggled to go deep in games. Medlin can apparently throw a complete game anytime he wants and usually has a shutout or 1 run given up when he's through.

Yeah, during his last few years, 5 was about all he could go. But during his prime, man he was very efficient. A common stat line for him was something like this: 7 to 8 innings, 85 pitches, 7 to 8 Ks, maybe 1 walk. He would do that game in and game out. That consistency is what makes him a first ballot hall of famer.

Minor is the guy who never gets any runs to work with. Somebody always seems to have that problem every year and this year, Minor is the guy. He would have an excellent record if there had been any run support whatsoever when he pitches.

Agree that at this point, Hanson would not be in my postseason rotation. Medlen, Minor, Hudson and then Maholm would be my rotation, and probably just the top three.